The SHARP Agency | B Corp™

OUR IDEAS MAKE THINGS HAPPEN

They create awareness, define identity, change perceptions, increase sales and inspire action. But above all, they help brands and businesses engage with their audience.

Collaboration is key and we like to work closely with our clients and their customers to unearth fresh insights and ensure clarity of objectives.

Then inspiration and experience laced with a touch of instinct, sparks a unique idea that integrates itself into the most appropriate media.

Most importantly, we never lose sight of what we’re here to do; bring ideas into the world that engage, are relevant, effective and make things happen.

And that's SHARP.

Owner

Graeme Robertson Trust (GRT)

GRT acts as a launch pad for creative careers. Together, we work to ensure that any young person who wishes to enter the creative advertising and marketing industry has the right skills, support and opportunities in order to thrive. The GRT is made up of senior creatives and marketers who all share a passion to help young creatives break into the industry.

Associate

DMA UK

For the last 6 years I have been proud to be a DMA Judge. The responsibility of helping select the best UK marketing work each year is one I relish. You can find out more about The DMA Awards at this link https://dma.org.uk/awards

DMA Judge 2020

TBWA\Manchester

When BDHTBWA\ and TEQUILA\ merged to become TBWA\ Manchester, my remit was to front the agency’s Creative Department and integrate all aspects of creativity that this one single company - with one P and L - could now deliver. 

Responsible for over 40 people in the Creative Department, part of my role was to get teams working in new media and in more collaborative ways than previously. 

As part of the Senior Management team, I was pivotal in helping the agency to win 8 new business pitches and 12 awards. Client scores for creativity improved dramatically. 

I also worked with D&amp;AD North and nurtured strong links with local Universities  - especially Preston and MMU - to implement a constant flow of graduate work placements within the Creative Department.

Executive Creative Director

TEQUILA\Manchester

Employed when the company first started, my remit was to help build the business and develop a first class creative department. 

We grew the company from five people to seventy five in just two years. Both the creative department and the production department were my responsibility. 

Developing the people in the business and the culture of the business was a key responsibility and I organised and hosted away days for both the creative department and account management to develop the team working and vision and values of the company.

The company was also well awarded for its creative and effectiveness, plus during this time I was also asked to run the creative department of TEQUILA\London for a period of three months.

Creative Director

Jaywing

Ran my own creative team working across a number of brands. This was where I gained my first experience of leadership. I also had total responsibility for the HSBC and Beefeater accounts, producing the creative work with my team and also managing the client relationships and developing the business on those two accounts. The agency was also media neutral so I also gained valuable experience working both above and below the line.

Deputy Creative Director

POULTERS

Had a great experience to start a career in a great agency. Essentially given creative freedom to develop fresh innovative work. A perfect job for a graduate.

Designer

Hello from me and our agency, SHARP. 

We are here to find and free your good.

A strategic creative agency. 
Problem solvers that bring clarity to complexity. 


We deliver:

- Strategic rigour
Using the power of insight to identify, understand and empathise.
Our strategic approach, ‘The Sharp EDGE’, unlocks critical insight from data, consumers, clients and employees.

- Customer Co-Creation
Connect with your customers through collaboration.
We understand why, when and how they engage with your brand and co-create with them using expert moderation and bespoke tools for exceptional outcomes.

- Creative power
Ideas that bring to life your one thing, to make you matter more.
Brilliant ideas, beautifully executed, are fuelled by strategic rigour and customer insights to develop work that delivers results to make clients smile.

Our Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Prosperity governs us, plus we are a Campaign ‘Best Place to Work’—ranking in the top 10 for the last two years.

DM me to find out more.

Richard Sharp

Pleased to announce a super exciting new biz win. Magnet Kitchens has appointed us as their lead agency. Full story at the link below.

Agency Owner | Strategic Creative Director | Ideas centric | Results focussed |

Open article: Magnet Kitchens sticks with Yorkshire roots and appoints new lead agency by prolificnorth.co.uk

Magnet Kitchens sticks with Yorkshire roots and appoints new lead agency

It's not all work, work, work... Sometimes I escape the grind to compete in Mountain Marathons. Here are some recent pics from the OMM.

This year it was in the Lake District.
It's a two-day event.
A lot of elite international teams. So a great atmosphere.
My teammate is the most excellent Alistair Innes Macdonald, who's navigation skills are simply wow.

My role is to keep up.
Keep smiling.
And take photos when Ali isn't looking. :)

Even bumped into a familiar face the night before the start.
Great to see you Charles Ross. 

Plus bumping into someone on the fells that I hadn't seen for 20 years!
Great to see you Peter Lawless

And of course I wouldn't go without my FLOC hat.
https://flocwool.co.uk/

Convention doesn't win. 


The most successful businesses aren’t always the loudest; they’re the smartest about their brand strategy. 👇 

I’ve explored this in depth in a recent article, sharing why every business benefits from insights and direction that you might not get from standard approaches.

If you’re intent on building a brand that delivers long-term results, have a read.

https://lnkd.in/em2AWWe6

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Just read the new McKinsey State of Marketing Europe 2026 report. The number one thing European marketing teams are focused on this year? Not AI, but what...

94% of CMOs are still figuring out AI. 
But the 6% who've actually embedded it are seeing 22% efficiency gains.

Yet the top priority for 2026 isn't AI or the shiny new tools. 

It's brand.

(see screen grabs below)

Makes sense when you think about it. 
In uncertain times, people gravitate toward brands they trust. 

Strong brand = clarity, consistency, something solid to hold onto.

Worth a read if you're thinking about where marketing's actually heading.
Link in comments.

Founder @ Propaganda Agency Ltd / Chair at GenM / brand director Cloud Nine / best selling Author/ founder of Illamasqua / co founder Omaly

I wrote Brand Warfare because someone needed to say out loud what most already know…..

Pitching is broken.

Most strategy decks are a list of tactics.

The majority of ( not all) Marketing Directors are bloody useless and can go a full career jumping from brand to brand achieving absolutely nothing at any of them. 

And the best ideas don’t come from outspending the competition. They come from outthinking them. 

My book is the unapologetic version of that truth. It’s part story, part warning, part blueprint told through my 32 years of working with brands the last twenty of which has been exclusively at C Suite. It goes into detail on brands that grew and transformed sectors because I got them to choose bravery over bureaucracy.

If you’re tired of the same recycled narratives and want to create work that actually moves people, reading Brand Warfare might just do more for you than another conference, seminar or whitepaper.

https://amzn.eu/d/iC7p0A7

Nano Banana Pro from Google Gemini has moved on a bit. Our agency's values in a poster took 30 seconds. This has possibilities in the right hands. The creative debate continues with AI, but as a tool, this has potential we can't ignore.

taplio